Matt Johnson (born October 5, 1985) is a Canadian writer, producer, director, and actor. He first attracted accolades for his low-budget independent feature films, including ''

The Dirties ''The Dirties'' is a 2013 Canadian found footage comedy-drama film and the directorial debut of Matt Johnson. It has received praise from critics as well as numerous awards, including the Grand Jury Prize for Best Narrative at the 2013 Slamdance ...

'' (2013), which won Best Narrative Feature at the

Slamdance Film Festival The Slamdance Film Festival is an annual film festival focused on emerging artists. The annual week-long festival is held in Los Angeles in late February and is the main event organized by the year-round Slamdance organization. The organization ...

, and ''

Operation Avalanche Operation Avalanche was the codename for the Allied landings near the port of Salerno, executed on 9 September 1943, part of the Allied invasion of Italy during World War II. The Italians withdrew from the war the day before the invasion, but ...

'' (2016), which premiered at the

Sundance Film Festival The Sundance Film Festival is an annual film festival organized by the Sundance Institute. It is the largest independent film festival in the United States, with 423,234 combined in-person and online viewership in 2023. The festival has acted ...

. Johnson achieved acclaim and commercial success with his third feature film, ''

BlackBerry BlackBerry is a discontinued brand of handheld devices and related mobile services, originally developed and maintained by the Canadian company Research In Motion (RIM, later known as BlackBerry Limited) until 2016. The first BlackBerry device ...

'' (2023), which documented the rise and fall of the BlackBerry phone. The film premiered in competition at the

73rd Berlin International Film Festival The 73rd annual Berlin International Film Festival, usually called the Berlinale (), took place from 16 to 26 February 2023. It was the first completely in-person Berlinale since 70th Berlin International Film Festival, the 70th in 2020. The fe ...

, and went on to win several accolades including the

Rogers Best Canadian Film Award The Rogers Best Canadian Film Award is presented annually by the Toronto Film Critics Association to the film judged by the organization's members as the year's best Canadian film. In 2012, the cash prize accompanying the award was increased to $1 ...

from the

Toronto Film Critics Association The Toronto Film Critics Association (TFCA) is an organization of film critics from Toronto-based publications. As of 1999, the TFCA is a member of the FIPRESCI. History The Toronto Film Critics Association is the official organization of Toro ...

and a record-setting 14

Canadian Screen Awards The Canadian Screen Awards () are awards given for artistic and technical merit in the film industry recognizing excellence in Canadian film, English-language television, and digital media ( web series) productions. Given annually by the Academy ...

from 17 nominations including

Best Motion Picture The Academy Award for Best Picture is one of the Academy Awards (also known as Oscars) presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) since the awards debuted in 1929. This award goes to the producers of the film an ...

. Johnson is also known for co-creating, directing, co-writing, and co-starring in the 2007–2009

mockumentary A mockumentary (a portmanteau of ''mock'' and ''documentary'') is a type of film or television show depicting fictional events, but presented as a Documentary film, documentary. Mockumentaries are often used to analyze or comment on current event ...

sitcom A sitcom (short for situation comedy or situational comedy) is a genre of comedy produced for radio and television, that centers on a recurring cast of character (arts), characters as they navigate humorous situations within a consistent settin ...

web series A web series (also known as webseries, short-form series, and web show) is a series of short scripted or non-scripted online videos, generally in episodic form, released on the Internet (i.e. World Wide Web), which first emerged in the late 1 ...

'' Nirvana the Band the Show'', its 2017–2018

spiritual sequel A spiritual successor (sometimes called a spiritual sequel) is a product or fictional work that is similar to, or directly inspired by, another previous product or work, but (unlike a traditional prequel or sequel) does not explicitly continue th ...

television series A television show, TV program (), or simply a TV show, is the general reference to any content produced for viewing on a television set that is broadcast via over-the-air, satellite, and cable, or distributed digitally on streaming plat ...

Nirvanna the Band the Show ''Nirvanna the Band the Show'' is a Canadian mockumentary sitcom television series, created by Matt Johnson and Jay McCarrol, who co-star as fictionalised versions of themselves. It premiered on February 2, 2017 on Viceland. The show was adap ...

'', and the 2025 feature film based on both, ''

Nirvanna the Band the Show the Movie ''Nirvanna the Band the Show the Movie'' is a 2025 Canadian time travel mockumentary-adventure film directed by Matt Johnson from a screenplay by Johnson and Jay McCarrol. The film stars Johnson and McCarrol as fictionalised versions of thems ...

''.

Career

2007–2009: ''Nirvana the Band the Show''

Johnson's major directorial debut was the independent mockumentary-sitcom web series '' Nirvana the Band the Show'', which ran from 2007–2009. Johnson co-created and co-starred in the series with lifelong best friend and fellow actor/filmmaker

Jay McCarrol Jay McCarrol (born August 9, 1983) is a Canadian musician, composer, writer, and actor, most noted as the co-star of the independent web series '' Nirvana the Band the Show'', its spiritual sequel television series '' Nirvanna the Band the Show ...

2013–2014: ''The Dirties''

Johnson achieved widespread critical acclaim in Canada with his first feature film ''

'', which won Best Narrative Feature at the

. He was a

Canadian Screen Award The Canadian Screen Awards () are awards given for artistic and technical merit in the film industry recognizing excellence in Canadian film, English-language television, and digital media ( web series) productions. Given annually by the Academy ...

nominee for Best Editing at the

2nd Canadian Screen Awards The 2nd Canadian Screen Awards were held on March 9, 2014, to honour achievements in Canadian film, television, and digital media production in 2013. There was almost no scripted dialogue and several scenes were shot without some of the participants' awareness.

2016: ''Operation Avalanche''

'' premiered at the

. Johnson had received an offer to premiere the film at the

Toronto International Film Festival The Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF, often stylized as tiff) is one of the most prestigious and largest publicly attended film festivals in the world. Founded in 1976, the festival takes place every year in early September. The organi ...

but declined, reasoning that the film would be lost in the large number of films shown there.

Lionsgate Lions Gate, Lion Gate or similar terms may refer to: Gates *Lion Gate at Mycenae in Greece *Lion Gate, one of the entrances to the ancient Hittite city of Hattusa, now in Turkey *Lion Gate, one of the entrances to the gardens of Hampton Court Pala ...

released it in the US on September 16, 2016. He was nominated for

Best Director Best Director is the name of an award which is presented by various film, television and theatre organizations, festivals, and people's awards. It may refer to: Film awards * AACTA Award for Best Direction * Academy Award for Best Director * As ...

at the

5th Canadian Screen Awards The 5th annual Canadian Screen Awards were held on March 12, 2017, to honour achievements in Canadian film, television, and digital media production in 2016. Nominations were announced on January 17, 2017. Awards in many of the technical categor ...

in 2017 for his work on ''Operation Avalanche''. The film received mostly positive reviews from critics. Peter Debruge of ''

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

'' wrote, "Matt Johnson and Owen Williams' wild, borderline-illegal stunt delivers big time on its crazy premise." John DeFore of ''

The Hollywood Reporter ''The Hollywood Reporter'' (''THR'') is an American digital and print magazine which focuses on the Cinema of the United States, Hollywood film industry, film, television, and entertainment industries. It was founded in 1930 as a daily trade pap ...

'' called it a "likeable if not always convincing fantasy that gets much mileage from its period feel". Anthony Kaufman of ''

Screen Daily ''Screen International'' is a British film magazine covering the international film business. It is published by Media Business Insight, a British B2B media company which also owned '' Broadcast''. The magazine is primarily aimed at those involv ...

'' wrote that the film "comes across more as a rambling lark than a tightly conceived film".

2016–2018: ''Nirvanna the Band the Show''

In 2016, the ''Nirvana the Band the Show'' web series was adapted into a television series titled ''

'' which premiered on

Viceland Viceland (stylized in all caps; also known as Vice TV in the United States) is a brand used for television channels owned and programmed by Vice Media. The brand launched on February 29, 2016, with two cable channels in North America. The Vice ...

in 2017. Several episodes of the first season were shown at the

. The show is not a direct continuation of the web series, serving as more of a spiritual sequel, but features occasional subtle callbacks.

2023: ''BlackBerry''

In 2022, Johnson directed and co-wrote, with Matthew Miller, the film ''

'', about the rise and fall of Canadian tech company

Research in Motion BlackBerry Limited, formerly Research In Motion (RIM), is a Canadian software company specializing in secure communications and the Internet of Things (IoT). Founded in 1984, it developed the BlackBerry brand of interactive pagers, smartpho ...

. The film stars

Glenn Howerton Glenn Franklin Howerton III (born April 13, 1976) is an American actor. He is best known for playing Dennis Reynolds on the long-running sitcom ''It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia'' (2005–present) on FX/ FXX, a series he co-developed with Rob ...

Jim Balsillie James Laurence Balsillie (born February 3, 1961) is a Canadian businessman and philanthropist. He was the former chair and co-chief executive officer of the Canadian technology company Research In Motion (BlackBerry), which at its 2011 peak made ...

Jay Baruchel Jonathan Adam Saunders Baruchel (; born April 9, 1982) is a Canadian actor and director. He is best known for his voice role as Hiccup Haddock in the ''How to Train Your Dragon'' franchise (2010–2019), and for his lead roles in the comedies ' ...

Mike Lazaridis Mihal "Mike" Lazaridis (born March 14, 1961) is a Greek Canadian businessman, investor in quantum computing technologies, and co-founder of Research In Motion, which created and manufactured the BlackBerry wireless handheld device. In November 2 ...

, and Johnson as Douglas Fregin. ''BlackBerry'' premiered in competition at the

on February 17, 2023, and attracted widespread critical acclaim. The film won several accolades, including the $50,000

from the

. The film broke the record for the most nominations for a film at the

, with 17 nominations at the 2024 ceremony. The film later won 14 awards, including

2025: ''Nirvanna the Band the Show the Movie''

Following the success of ''BlackBerry'', Johnson received funding from

Telefilm A television film, alternatively known as a television movie, made-for-TV film/movie, telefilm, telemovie or TV film/movie, is a film with a running time similar to a feature film that is produced and originally distributed by or to a terrestr ...

to make a feature film adaptation of ''Nirvana the Band the Show'' and ''Nirvanna the Band the Show''. ''

'' premiered on March 9, 2025 at

SXSW South by Southwest (SXSW) is an annual conglomeration of parallel film, interactive media, and music festivals and Convention (meeting), conferences organized jointly that take place in mid-March in Austin, Texas. It began in 1987 and has conti ...

Other work

In addition to his own productions, he has had acting roles in feature films such as ''

Diamond Tongues ''Diamond Tongues'' is a 2015 Canadian comedy-drama film directed by Pavan Moondi and Brian Robertson. It stars July Talk band member Leah Fay Goldstein as a Toronto-based struggling actress who descends into a downward spiral of depression, na ...

'', and the

Kazik Radwanski Kazik Radwanski is a Canadian film director and screenwriter. His early short films have been cited as part of the New Canadian Cinema movement. He made his feature film directorial debut in 2012 with ''Tower''. His second feature film, '' How ...

films ''

How Heavy This Hammer ''How Heavy This Hammer'' is a 2015 Canadian drama film directed by Kazik Radwanski. The film had its world premiere at the 2015 Toronto International Film Festival and its international premiere at the 66th Berlin International Film Festival. ...

'', ''

Anne at 13,000 Ft. ''Anne at 13,000 Ft.'' is a 2019 Canadian drama film. Directed and written by Kazik Radwanski, the film stars Deragh Campbell as Anne, a shy, socially awkward daycare worker whose attitude to her life and work is radically transformed after she ...

'' and '' Matt and Mara''. Johnson and Jay McCarrol co-created and co-starred in an animated spiritual successor to ''Nirvanna the Band the Show'' made for children called ''Matt & Bird Break Loose'' in 2021. Johnson and Miller founded their own production house, Zapruder Films, in 2013. Three years later, in 2016, the company released its first project, ''Operation Avalanche''. The company is still active today. Johnson and Miller won the Canadian Screen Award for Best Adapted Screenplay, and Johnson won the award for

, at the 12th Canadian Screen Awards in 2024 for ''

''. In 2024, he served as jury president of the Compétition Cheval Noir at the

28th Fantasia International Film Festival The 28th Fantasia International Film Festival was held from 18 July to 4 August 2024 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Juries Compétition Cheval Noir * Matt Johnson (director), Matt Johnson, Canadian filmmaker – Jury President * Steve Dollar, ...

Filmography

Film

As director/writer

As actor

Television

As director/writer

As actor

Web

As director/writer

As actor

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Johnson, Matt Film directors from Toronto Living people Canadian male film actors Canadian male television actors Canadian male web series actors Canadian film editors Web series directors 1985 births 21st-century Canadian male actors Canadian male television writers Canadian television writers Canadian male screenwriters Male actors from Toronto Screenwriters from Toronto 21st-century Canadian screenwriters 21st-century Canadian male writers York University alumni Best Screenplay Genie and Canadian Screen Award winners Best Director Genie and Canadian Screen Award winners